Artifacts sought from public to tell wider Civil War story in CSS Neuse museum

Wednesday

Oct 10, 2012 at 12:01 AMOct 10, 2012 at 10:30 PM

CSS Neuse museum officials seek artifacts from the public

David Anderson-Staff Writer

Open the door to the vault at the CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center and you will see boxes of artifacts from the wreckage of the CSS Neuse ironclad.

There are coal shovels, a bread pan, the ship’s stove, the strike plate from a flintlock firearm, even the ship’s bell, which Operations Manager Morris Bass called “the heart and soul of the ship” because it served as the time keeper.

There are many artifacts which were not on the ship but are related to the men who served on it.

Joseph Price was captain of the Neuse when she was scuttled by her crew in 1865, and he had a long maritime career before and after the Civil War. The museum’s collection includes his framed commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service — today’s U.S. Coast Guard — in 1856.

The commission was signed by then-President Franklin Pierce and then-Treasury Secretary James Buchanan, who served as president from 1857 to 1861 — his term ended weeks before the first shots of the Civil War were fired.

“It’s the largest collection of ship-related artifacts in the country when we’re talking about the Civil War,” said Keith Hardison, director of the N.C. Division of Historic Sites and Properties. “For the rest of the story we’re pretty thin in some areas.”

Hardison, who visited Kinston and the Interpretive Center downtown Wednesday, encouraged members of the public to contribute any artifacts they had from the Civil War and the antebellum years preceding it.

Museum and state officials plan to place a variety of artifacts in the facility — built to house the remains of the gunboat in a climate-controlled environment — which tell the wider story of the war’s impact in Kinston, Lenoir County and Eastern North Carolina.

“There are lots of thugs released to the Civil War out there, and we are hoping (the public) will share some of these things with us so we can better flesh out the story,” Hardison explained.

The Neuse was built in Whitehall — now Seven Springs — on the western edge of Lenoir County, and outfitted in Kinston.

Kinston was also a critical shipping town, based on its location along the Neuse River and an east-west rail line, and it was attacked and occupied twice by Union troops. The Neuse’s guns were fired on Union soldiers advancing on Kinston during the Battle of Wyse Fork in 1865, and the ship was scuttled — or destroyed by friendly hands — to prevent her from falling into northern hands.

“This is going to tell the why,” Bass said of the sought-after artifacts. “Why is Kinston important?”

He described Eastern North Carolina as “the backdoor to the Confederacy,” as it was the source of supplies to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army in Virginia. Once Kinston and the eastern part of the state fell, Lee was forced to surrender a few weeks later.

“We’re telling a 10-point story, of which the Neuse is the biggest — but not the only point,” Hardison said.

The public is encouraged to share anything it might have which has been passed down by their ancestors, whether it is photographs of people or places in Kinston from the Civil War and antebellum era; period documents, from government and military forms, to store ledgers; military uniforms and civilian clothing — for adults and children — and more.

Residents can also contribute items from organizations formed to remember the war and those who fought in it, such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Hardison said the Interpretive Center will also tell the experience of black residents of Kinston and Lenoir County, including those who served in the U.S. Colored Troops — segregated units of the Union Army made up of free blacks and escaped slaves.

“We would dearly love to have something that relates to any of those individuals,” he said of members of the USCT.

Construction continues on the museum — Hardison said the mezzanine area with temporary exhibits is expected to open this fall, and the full museum with its permanent collection is expected to open in the fall of 2013.

Hardison said officials are looking to get artifacts for the permanent displays in the next three months so the exhibits can be properly designed.

“The greater the level of participation from the outside, the better and stronger the exhibits in this museum will be,” he said.

David Anderson can be reached at 252-559-1077 or David.Anderson@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at DavidFreePress.

Anyone interested in donating or loaning an artifact to the CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center should call 252-522-2091 or email cssneuse@ncdcr.gov